The onset of the monsoon has significantly increased travel time between Nashik and Mumbai, extending the usual four-hour journey to eight hours. Large potholes and on-going road construction along the 180 km Mumbai-Agra highway stretch have slowed vehicle speeds, creating frustrating delays for commuters. Senior MSRTC officials report that buses now take between 8 to 10 hours to cover the distance, typically completed in a maximum of five hours. Buses are getting stuck in traffic between Kasara and Bhiwandi, a distance usually covered in about one-and-a-half hours now takes over three hours, said Kiran Bhosale, divisional traffic officer. The return journey faces similar delays. Severe congestion is noted at Padgha, Vasind, and the Asangaon railway bridge due to construction. Commuters, such as Abhay Kulkarni from Nashik First, shared experiences of prolonged travel times. Harish Chaube, a safety officer at Mahindra and Mahindra, highlighted the traffic bottlenecks at Pimpri Phata and Sinnar Phata, worsened by flyover construction and monsoon-induced potholes on single-lane service roads. Highway police officials at Kasara explained that traffic at Pimpri Phata is compounded by vehicles heading to and from the Samruddhi Expressway. SP Mohan Dahikar stated that they are in communication with National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials about the on-going flyover works at Vasind and Asangaon railway bridge, noting that the service roads are not built to withstand continuous multi-axle vehicle traffic, leading to potholes during the rainy season. Senior NHAI officials acknowledged the problem at Vasind due to truck drivers' wrong-side driving, which has been resolved. They also mentioned that one side of the flyover at Pimpri Phata will open in the next few days, which is expected to ease traffic congestion. (Source: ET)